Familiar of Zero, Is That So?
by Unroyal Paladin
Summary: Oda Nobunaga, one of the three conquerors of Japan's warring states period, grew up in the chaotic times, and historically was last seen alive at the temple of Honnoji. Now, forgetting about Saito, would Nobunaga be able to fit into Halkeginia, with peace already present? Or will he resist, and plunge that world too, into the state of chaos?
1. Another World, Is That So?

"So, this is what you desire...?"

"I do not hate you, but what I desire can't be had while you still live."

"If that is the case, you better give me your best!"

Sword clashes could be heard in Kyoto. It was in June, 1582, the place was right outside the temple of Honnouji, the flames serving as the perfect background for the fight, as the futures of both Oda Nobunaga and Akechi Mitsuhide were being burnt to the ground.

Suddenly, at one point in the 'duel' , they both got a bit too close to the burning temple. A few deadlocks occured, creating additional sparks to the burning flames just near them.

It was a sad irony, that the final strike in the duel was actually Mitsuhide striking one of the supporting wood pillars of the temple and getting out of reach, as the sea of flames engulfed Nobunaga, rather than one of them striking the other.

'So this is my end...?' Thought Nobunaga, as he felt himself suddenly falling, not daring to even open his eyes to see where exactly. He assumed he was dead and that he was falling to hell to burn for eternity. However, heaven and hell had different plans for the 'demon king'.

"Answer my guidance!" Nobunaga suddenly heard words from the distance, opening his eyes for a moment before shutting them again, in that moment seeing the light he was apparently being sucked into. the voice was one of a young girl, one which Nobunaga didn't know what to make of at those moments.

'Live on, Mitsuhide...' Nobunaga thought to himself, just several moments before...

... an explosion.

The next moments, after regaining his senses from the explosion, Nobunaga got up from just lying on the ground, noticing his sword, which was right by his side, reaching for it right away. He would wait for the smoke to lift, but he wouldn't wait for something just to randomly come at him and kill him just like that.

His next action, while he was waiting to better see his surroundings, was hearing some conversation occuring behind the smoke. It was a language he had never heard before, it wasn't Japanese or anything like it... for him, it seemed like one of the languages used by the 'barbarian' countries.

And he would really go with his line of thought that those countries had something to do with his situation, if not for a certain fact about those voices... that they sounded way too young. 'Children...?' Nobunaga thought to himself, returning his blade to its sheath.

The smoke then lifted, revealing what seemed to be a bunch of children dressed in weird costumes, together with one adult, most likely their supervisor. Even that 'supervisor' was visibly surprised at the sight of Nobunaga.

"What do you desire of Nobunaga?" Was the first thing Nobunaga said in Halkeginia. However, the looks on the group's faces didn't change in the slightest. Nobunaga figured out that they all didn't understand a thing of what he said.

Then, a little girl with pink hair, tried to get close to Nobunaga. "Where do you think you're going, young girl?" Said Nobunaga, getting his hands towards his sword again. At that point, the 'supervisor' shouted at the girl, possibly to warn her, however, the girl only yelled back at Nobunaga, and pointed her wooden stick at him, causing another explosion straight at Nobunaga's face.

Nobunaga was pretty much taken off guard again, backing out a few steps backwards before facing the girl again. "What do you think you're doing?!" The demon king shouted. Much to his surprise... and rage, the little pinkette chose then of all times, to ignore him, by turning to the 'supervisor'.

"Mr. Colbert, can I please re-do the summoning ritual? I don't want it to be this plebeian!" Nobunaga was first shocked that he was able to understand the language all of a sudden, but hearing the second part, his anger rose up again, together with a demonic laughter. " Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! 'Plebeian' , you say...?" He said slowly, starting to draw his sword again.

The group of... humans? , suddenly all turned towards Nobunaga. "I can... understand you...!" The little pinkette said, pointing towards Nobunaga. At first, Nobunaga thought that 'If the bird won't sing, kill it', but it soon changed, stopping his sword midway through the sheath. "And I understand you too. Now, can I asked why am I here and not in my land?" Asked Nobunaga, a bit of aggression in his tone.

Who spoke to the demon king next, was the partly-bald supervisor, then identified as Mr. Colbert. "You have been summoned by miss Valliere here as a part of the familiar summoning ceremony, to be her familiar. Now, I'd advise you not to draw your sword here." The man said, taking a step forward, to get Nobunaga's attention away from killing all his students, and more towards himself.

"Is that so...?" Responded Nobunaga, with an indifferent facial expression and tone. Taking Mr. Colbert's 'advice' aside, Nobunaga did know what a familiar was, but to be summoned to the-founder-knows-where to be one himself, to a little girl who made an explosion in his face and had the guts to call HIM, ODA NOBUNAGA, A PLEBEIAN... that, was a bit too much for him to comprehend in a matter of minutes.

Nobunaga stared at 'miss Valliere' ... or at least he thought that the little girl before him was her, for a few seconds, giving her a cold look which made her shiver a bit. That was Nobunaga, just his presence was unsettling. "Are you the one who summoned me, Oda Nobunaga?" He asked in a rather grand, although also threatening way.

"A-And what if it's me? Do you have a problem with that, you plebeian?!" She shouted back, although Nobunaga didn't feel any force behind them. Nobunaga could see very well that she was only a weak child, deep within her soul, and it didn't matter how mighty she tried to make herself seem with her words.

The only real force Nobunaga did sense, came from Mr. Colbert. Even though Nobunaga truely wanted to cut that Valliere open, he doubted that he could best Mr. Colbert, if that instructor was to get angry for slicing a student or two.

"You have some courage, little girl, I'll give you that much. Fine, I will become your familiar..." -"However, I will not tolerate you calling me a plebeian with such disrespect." Miss Valliere prepared to exhale out of relief, but tensed up again in... yes, it was fear, when Nobunaga finished his sentence. For her, it was like he could cut her open with that sword of his in a flash whenever he so chose. And it was true.

"Ahem, miss Valliere, please perform 'contract servant'. We're all waiting for you two." Mr. Colbert said, Nobunaga being slightly irritated when he heard the word 'servant', but he tried not to show it. The little Valliere got closer to Nobunaga, this time with her 'stick' not in her hands, and 'politely' asked him to get his face closer, due to the rather major height difference between them.

Nobunaga lowered his head, the little Valliere suddenly kissing him on the lips, after saying something like 'Be grateful you get something like this from a noble'. Nobunaga couldn't help but wonder about what would happen if Noh was there to see what was going on there. Sure, it was a creepy ritual from a 'barbaric' land, but if he didn't get summoned then, he would've been killed at Honnouji by the hands of Mitsuhide.

Nobunaga thought for several moments about what that kiss could mean, his thoughts cut by a sharp pain coming from his left hand, followed by a rush of heat throughout his whole body. Nobunaga groaned as some strange signs were being engraved on the back of his left hand. The whole process seemed way more painful than what was actually necessary, at least for Nobunaga, as he, Oda Nobunaga, fell to the ground, unconcious.

When Nobunaga opened his eyes after that incident, it appeared to be evening, seeing what seemed like a lamp on top of a rather large 'stand' after trying to get up... from a pile of hay? 'This is getting rediculous.' Nobunaga thought to himself. He looked around the room after picking his sword from the wooden floor, seeing his 'master' entering the room just then.

"Looks like you finally woke up..." Confirmed the young sorcerer. "Care to explain to me what exactly happened in your little ritual? And while you're at it, where am I, too." Asked Nobunaga, wanting a clear picture of where he's standing.

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .  
After some explanation  
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

"So, this is the Magic Academy in the country of Tristain, in the mainland of Halkeginia... and you are a student in this academy." Said Nobunaga, after hearing quite a long explanation. He was sitting on one of the chairs (which were very high compared to the standard ones in the main camps), getting scolded for that with no real reason, but it didn't really matter either. "As my familiar, I won't allow you to call me 'you'. I have a name, and that's Louise. Louise de la Valliere." The girl introduced herself as Louise, together with another of those 'small details'.

"How nice of you to introduce yourself." Nobunaga joked about how late it was, Louise taking his words as an insult. "Be quiet, familiar!" Shouted Louise, getting an annoyed facial expression from Nobunaga. "If you knew me from where I came from, you wouldn't dare talking like that towards me. Although it would be nice if you too, remembered my name. My name is Oda Nobunaga." Said Nobunaga. He was annoyed once again, that time it was by the fact that Louise didn't look like she was even listening.

Rather than listening, she was changing to her night cloths, right in front of someone who nearly unified his whole mainland under his rule... and she even dared to throw her previous cloths at him, including her... panties. "Wash these for me, odanobunaga." She just said that, and headed to bed. While she was an insolent fool, it did intrigue Nobunaga that with a single motion, the lamp's light faded. He'd really like to learn that. For then, though, he had laundry to do. "Do you even care if you get seen by male strangers, you karui-onna..." Nobunaga said with a sigh, leaving the room with the laundry in his hands.

Being completely unfamiliar with the academy grounds, Nobunaga almost got lost... almost. While memorizing the western-castle-like environment's pathways, Nobunaga came across what seemed like, to Nobunaga at least, some sort of servant. A decent young woman, unlike his 'master' Louise. Nobunaga didn't understand why that uniform with the dress and the unusual headgear was needed, though, nor had he ever seen one until that time, for that matter.

"You there." Nobunaga called the servant, who was with her back turned towards him. The poor servant was scared for her life when she turned around to see the 'knight/samurai in black armor', passing out almost immediately. Responding quickly, Nobunaga took her in his arms before she hit the ground, dropping the laundry in the process. 'Since when were human beings so fragile...?' Nobunaga thought to himself, carrying the fallen maid towards a fountain which happened to be nearby, getting the laundry right after.

Although Nobunaga waited quite a bit watching over the maid, she opened her eyes again fairly quickly. "It seems that you've regained your senses." Said Nobunaga, startling the maid again when she turned her face towards him, although it wasn't the fright she experienced earlier. Nobunaga raised a brow as she suddenly began apologizing to no end. "No need to apologize." Said Nobunaga, being extremely careful with his tone, the maid suddenly blushing, lowering her face. Nobunaga still had his charisma, it seemed.

"I need a helping hand with this chore, and I just wondered if you could help me." The maid's blush suddenly disappeared as Nobunaga mentioned his chore given to him by Louise. "A-Ah, are you, by chance, miss Valliere's familiar? I've heard that a scary plebeian was summoned today, but I've never thought I'd actually meet you so soon-" -"Can I ask that you refain from calling me a 'plebeian'? My name is Oda Nobunaga. Just Nobunaga would be fine." The maid started, although she was interrupted by Nobunaga, who got a bit irritated by the wording of the spread rumor about him.

The maid nodded, and took the laundry, Nobunaga following her. "What is your name...?" Asked Nobunaga. "My name's Siesta, mister Nobunaga, nice to meet you." Answered the maid with a smile, Nobunaga walking beside her that time. Setting the fact that she was taller than Louise aside, Siesta was still way shorter than Nobunaga. About Oichi's height, if he'd take a guess. "Siesta, is it... I'll remember you." Nobunaga said mostly as a note to himself, as he looked at the twin moons in the sky.

Meanwhile, Louise was having a strange dream... one about her familiar. The image was an army marching towards a city, viewed by Louise from somewhere above them. Before she managed to question anything (including how handsome their general was), the infamous line was said by that general, swinging his sword at the direction of a temple inside the city: "THE ENEMY IS AT HONNOJI!" . The next image she was shown, was two swordsmen, fighting in front of a burning temple. It was strange for Louise, as one of them looked exactly like her familiar, but she couldn't make more sense at that time.

Next, after a few clashes, both taking space from each other, each swordsman got into his own stance, taking a few seconds to breath. "Mitsuhide... You have made life interesting... you have made *death* interesting. Now come... MITSUHIDE!" Shouted her familiar, followed by another shout from ... that handsome general, Mitsuhide apparently was his name. "NOBUNAGA!" That was the last word she heard in that dream, almost as if it confirmed that it was her familiar.

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .  
The next day  
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

It was early morning when Nobunaga tried to wake Louise up. It was nice to watch, but you can't do war while being a sleepyhead, so that must be done one way or another. "It's morning... Louise." Nobunaga said, poking her shoulder with his finger. It was hard to ignore because it was technically Nobunaga's cold and pointy armor which touched Louise, and not actually his finger. Louise woke up nontheless, turning around to see her familiar. "Mm... who are you...?" She first said, still being half asleep. "I am Oda Nobunaga... now, here are your cloths, as so you desired." Answered Nobunaga.

"Ah, my familiar... I summoned you yesterday, didn't I...?" Said Louise, getting out of her bed slowly. It seemed that she was still kinda sleepy. Nobunaga turned around to leave the room while Louise was supposed to be getting changed. "Where do you think you're going?!" However, he was met with another one of Louise's shouts, and his head was met with a shirt. "Dress me." Ordered Louise, Nobunaga taking the shirt and throwing it back at Louise, without even turning around. "Just how much of a child can you possibly be?" Asked Nobunaga, his back still turned towards Louise, although he did stop in his place.

"Aristocrats never put their cloths on themselves when they have a servant!" Louise tried to argue. "Put on your cloths on your own. It's for your own good. I'll wait for you outside." Responded Nobunaga, leaving the room. It was fortunately for Louise, that Nobunaga didn't hear her threat not to give him food... else her skull was to be his cup. Apparently it was an empty threat, since when Louise finally went out of her room, she didn't even mention it.

The door to the dining hall almost looked like a gate to Nobunaga. It was huge, yet it was not that reinforced like a gate of his world, and was easy to open even with Louise's physical strength... which Nobunaga believed to be almost nothing.

"Oh look, here they come. The scary plebeian familiar, and his master." Nobunaga heard someone say as he and Louise entered the hall. It didn't anger Nobunaga that much, but rather, it interested him that the voice sounded a bit like Noh, only less venomous. "Pull the seat out already; You're so inconsiderate." Said Louise, seeing that Nobunaga was scanning the food on the tables, and the strange... instruments, beside the plates. Those weren't the chopsticks that he was accustomed to, no doubt about that. With one hand, Nobunaga pulled Louise's seat, and right after that he pulled an ajacant one for himself with his other hand.

When he sat on the chair (which was way higher than what he was accustomed to) , he noticed that the air around him had changed, as if he did something wrong, funny, or dishonorable... or all of them at the same time. The demon king turned his head towards Louise, who pointed down with an irritated face. Nobunaga looke down, to find a similar plate to those on the table, only cracked at some areas. "What are you trying to show me?" Nobunaga asked innocently.

"Only aristocrats may sit here. A plebeian sits there." Louise said, once again not shouting (Nobunaga assuming that it's only in order to preserve her 'honor' in front of the other students) . "Is that so...?" Was the only reply she got from Nobunaga, who tried to learn how to use the fork, spoon, and knife, the knife and fork being the most familiar out of the three, as the knife seemed sort of like a dagger, or miniature sword, and the fork seemed like a miniature tri-headed spear. Nobunaga was completely unfamiliar with the western ("barbarian") dining instruments, but it wasn't like he wasn't interested in them, unlike some people who specificly tried to seclude the Japanese style of life from the rest.

Every student who saw what Nobunaga was doing, laughed so hard that they could barely even breath, let alone comment on the extremely akward situation, of a plebeian who didn't even see proper cutlery once in his entire life, struggling with them while sitting near the second-year aristocrats' table, despite his master's orders to sit on the ground. "I MEANT YOU, FAMILIAR!" Louise shouted, aiming for his ear with her hand, meeting his handguard armor however, instead.

"I'll let you know, in my homeland, I was clearly what you'd so call 'aristocrat'. The name of Oda Nobunaga echoed throughout the whole land in fear. Calling me a plebeian could have your head offered to me on a plate." Nobunaga said quietly, not to let anyone else hear him, and to instill fear in Louise at the same time. "I-I can't believe that!" Louise said loudly. "And how dare you try to eat without praying first?! You damn familiar!" She continued with her ranting rather quickly. That time, Nobunaga completely ignored her. Sure, holding the knife and fork in both hands was new to Nobunaga, but he too, was able to figure that one out, and start eating.

The food was obviously tasty, Nobunaga had no complaints on that regard. However, people kept interfering with his breakfast, and that started to get on his nerves. "And why are you eating here?" That time it was Colbert who stopped by to annoy Nobunaga. "I'm eating because the human body needs nourishment, don't you know that...? " Nobunaga answered. Apparently half the students had to force themselves to avoid laughing.

Colbert straightened his glasses. "That is not the problem here with this situation. I must ask that you evacuate your seat for the other aristocrats." He said. Nobunaga noticed that Louise had a certain look on her face, as if she was expecting Colbert to shut her familiar up, a thing she couldn't do on her own. "Is that so...? Well, do it when I finish my own meal. Judging by the quantity of exact duplicates of this meal, I'm quite sure you'd be able to make another one fairly quickly." Responded Nobunaga. "Alright, but do it quick. I'll tell the staff to make another." Colbert seemed to have no choice but to let Nobunaga go that time.

Louise was embarassed, letting her familiar do as he pleases wasn't on her list of plans. However, if her teacher allowed him, there was nothing she could do... ... except help him with the knife and fork, but that'd be even more embarassing, since no-one besides Nobunaga began eating yet. Nobunaga finished pretty fast compared to the fact that it was his first time eating with something other than chopsticks. Right after finishing his meal, Nobunaga left the dining hall, not even caring, the five-petaled flower mark on his back showing to the aristocrat students as he left. He didn't really want to hear them talking about him directly.

Nobunaga waited patiently outside the hall, seeing a bunch of animals not too far away from him to the left, as he leaned on the wall close to the door. After a few minutes, he heard some strange noise coming from inside the room. That was the little prayer Louise had mentioned earlier... which Nobunaga ignored her saying. It went something like 'Our great founder Brimir and her highness, we thank you for this small breakfast.' .

Some time passed, and the students left the dining room, taking their respective familiars with them. Louise was not of the first ones to do so, but when she did leave, she just couldn't stay silent after what happened. "You stupid familiar! Do you even know how embarassed I was back then?! Familiars are usually left outside during breakfast! I especially allowed you to enter the dining hall and stay with me!" Was a part of Louise's ranting.

Of course, the only response she got from Nobunaga was his usual catch-all catchphrase - "Is that so..." , before he turned his head towards a table area where some students were, with their familiars. "What is everyone doing...?" Asked Nobunaga, seeing that most of the other familiars were common animals like dogs... ... that was kinda weird. "Ah, that. There's no class for second years today. They're building communications with their newly-summoned familiar spirits." Answered Louise, sighing afterwards.

Suddenly, Nobunaga heard someone calling them from behind. It was the same womanly voice which rivaled Noh... ... except the 'skewering you unless you do what she wants' part. Nobunaga turned around to see a rather fascinating creature. It was like a red lizard, but the tip of its tail was continuously generating a small flame. "W-What creature is this?" Nobunaga was startled, but it was barely visible. "It's a Salamander, why, is it your first time seeing one?" Asked the woman who at that time petted the so-called Salamander. Nobunaga just nodded.

"Hey Louise, did you really summon this guy? It looks like you just took some plebeian at random from the streets. I must admit, the explosion covered it up nicely." The red-haired woman said. "I did the summoning properly! He just happened to come out!" Louise responded quickly. "I wonder how much can he endure you before he quits the job. Ohohohoho~" The red-haired classmate said, walking away snobbishly with her Salamander familiar.

At that time, Nobunaga wondered just how much free time those stupid students had, for it to get down that low. It was almost as if she was begging Louise to attack her, and that did exist in his world with all those clans. "What's with that woman?! Don't just stand here, bring me tea or something!" Nontheless, it was working on Louise to an extent, Louise being furious at the redhead, letting it out on Nobunaga, as usual.

Nobunaga wasn't sure whether to take the redhead's last words seriously or not, as to 'quiting the job'. However, he was quite sure that someone in the academy was able to help him bringing tea to both her and himself. While he did look around the tables area for a servant, he obviuosly wasn't used to being any kind of servant himself, and walking slowly made him look like he was taking his time, rather than doing his best to serve his 'master'.

Then, another wandering familiar happened to enter Nobunaga's close-range sight. It was a strange creature which looked like a purple floating eyeball; In Nobunaga's world, it'd be probably classified as s Youkai of some sort. Nobunaga tried to get away from it by stepping backwards, visibly startled, but he ended up bumping into a maid, said maid dropping the cake she was carrying. Nobunaga noticed that, and quickly turned around. "Sorry for bumping into you." Nobunaga apologized. When looking at the maid, Nobunaga recognized that it was non other than the one he met the other night, Siesta was her name.

"No, I'm fine, really..." Said Siesta, retrieving the fallen cake from the ground. "Mister Nobunaga...? What brings you here?" Siesta asked, recognizing Nobunaga's voice. That time, Siesta knew what to expect while turning towards the Demon King, so it wasn't as much of a surprise for her as it was the first time they met. "I've been looking for someone to help me and Louise with some tea. I see that you're working well here yourself." Responded Nobunaga. "Yea, I work here as a maid serving the aristocrats." Said Siesta, reminding Nobunaga of one little thing he almost forgot to take care of.

"Just what is that aristocracy system in this world...? I keep hearing those words - 'aristocrat' and 'plebeian'." Nobunaga asked Siesta. It really seemed like she was the most open person around. "Well, anyone who can use magic is an aristocrat, and the rest are plebeians. That's common knowledge here." Responded Siesta. "I see... 'magic', is it..." Nobunaga wondered. However, there was someone who cut his line of thought off. "Hey! Is me cake here yet?" A blond male student shouted from the table, where he was sitting with another, female student.

"Ah, coming right away!" Siesta shouted back. "Sorry, mister Nobunaga." The maid told Nobunaga quickly, and dashed away to replace the fallen cake. Well, there goes his helping hand in getting his master some tea... that was really too bad; As Nobunaga remembered it, tea had the power to relax body and soul, especially needed after wars of mass slaughter. "Hey, you!" The blond playboy who ordered the cake shouted towards Nobunaga, waving at him to come closer.

"Why, aren't you the familiar summoned by Louise the zero. What brought you to such a low level of chatting with the maids? Are you that eager to get away from your master?" He said when Nobunaga got close enough. "You made three fatal mistakes just now. First, just calling me 'familiar' is insulting my name. Second, if I'm already a 'familiar', insulting my lord's name by calling her a 'zero', is unforgivable. And third, insulting my loyalty to my lord, is a serious offense, no matter if I am loyal or not. Now explain to me why I shouldn't have your head right now?" Nobunaga made a speech after giggling to himself.

"Apologize to me right now, you insolent plebeian! You should be more respectful towards us aristocrats!" The blond student shouted at Nobunaga, slamming at the table and getting up from his seat, his familiar, a rather large mole, remained hidden behind his master. The only response he got from Nobunaga for that, however, was... ... "Is that so...?" , but in a more sinister tone than his usual indifferent one.

"Your lame scare tactics won't work on me! Your sword is just for show, and your attitude is just asking for a beating! Fine, if you don't want to apologize... ... I, Guiche de Granmort, challenge you to a duel!" The playboy, named Guiche, made a surprising move, challenging Nobunaga to a duel, pointing a rose at him. And he did it with some weird style at that. Some students gathered to see what the commotion was about. Nobunaga, in response to the challenge, laughed in such a fiendish way, unsettling anyone close enough to hear it.

"That's exactly how I want it... Guiche de Granmort." Nobunaga repeated Guiche's name just like he heard it (after he stopped laughing of course). "You'd better prepare for this! I'll wait for you in the Vestry field!" Guiche said with confidence that he'd win, turning his back and walking away... or so he thought. Nobunaga walked right behind the kid, who turned around to see the 'scary familiar' once again. "Lead the way. I'll just follow you for now. Or are you that afraid that I might stab you in the back?" Nobunaga taunted.

Meanwhile, Siesta replaced the fallen cake, and reached the table, only to see Nobunaga following Guiche somewhere else. "Mister Nobunaga..." She said to herself, not fully knowing what had just taken place. Despite that, she placed the cake on the table where Guiche once was.

'How boring...' Nobunaga thought to himself, as the two reached the 'battlefield'. It was just an open field, no garrisons, no rivers to open floodgates, nothing. Only him, and the brat he was facing. And the large number of students around, acting as spectators, and to a lesser extent, walls so there will be no escape.

Suddenly, Louise arrived, running as if she was saving her familiar's life by doing so. "Wait!" She shouted as she made her way through the crowd, which managed to encircle the two, and pulled Nobunaga back with force. And that was before Guiche or Nobunaga even lifted a finger.

"What do you think you're doing, familiar?!" Louise continuted with her shouting. "I'm beating down a worthless punk who dared to mock my name, your name, and my loyalty to you." Answered Nobunaga, in the most innocent way possible... for him. "Guiche is my classmate!" Louise tried to say, although she was interrupted by Nobunaga.

"That doesn't justify his actions in the slightest, and that status of his doesn't change the truth about him as a human being. He tranished our honor. Now... What do YOU desire, Louise... in the dark, pit, of your soul?" Nobunaga answered, yet again leaving everyone hearing it with their mouths open.

"B-But you're just a plebeian! A plebeian can't win against a mage! You'll be killed if you draw that sword of yours!" Louise protested. Nobunaga could see that she really wanted Guiche alive... he didn't know the reason, but if that's what she desires.

"It doesn't matter, the duel's already starting!" Guiche interrupted the conversation which already was getting on his nerves, and waved the red rose in his hand, a single petal dropping on the ground. The ground around the fallen petal emitted a white light, some sort of metal swordsman coming out of the ground.

"My runic name is Guiche the Bronze; This Bronze Valkyrie will be your opponent." Said Guiche, pointing his rose at Nobunaga, just to show off. 'Credit where it's due - the commander never goes first into battle in war, and the kid realized that.' Nobunaga thought, getting his right hand near his sword.

"My name is Oda Nobunaga. By the end of this duel, you will come to fear my might as well." Said Nobunaga in the same fashion, although he omitted his infamous nickname which got sticked to him in his world. When he pulled his sword out, Nobunaga suddenly felt a rush of power inside him, a power which he didn't recognize... as if it was not originally his.

"Now that you pulled your sword, there's no holding back! Go, my Valkyrie!" Guiche called out his first attack, the bronze structure charging at Nobunaga, trying to punch him in the stomach area. "ALEA IACTA EST." Said Nobunaga, moments before avoiding the fist easily and splitting the bronze structure into two in the waist area.

"Alea iacta est...? Was that supposed to be a kind of a spell, Tabitha?" Nobunaga heard in the distance... it was the red-haired one, without a doubt, that was her voice. Nobunaga didn't hear what that 'Tabitha' answered her, because her only word was too quiet... and that was 'unknown.' .

Seeing his precious valkyrie cut in half lying on the ground shocked Guiche. There went his theory about Nobunaga's blade being 'just for show'. However, he couldn't surrender just yet. "Don't think it's over!" Said Guiche, sending ten petals to the ground, turning into the same valkyries at about the same time, not giving Nobunaga a chance to strike Guiche himself.

Those numbers reminded him of his first big battle in his world - being outnumbered ten to one by the Imagawa, miraculously emerging victorious at Okehazama by using a surprise attack on their general - Imagawa Yoshimoto. And really, Nobunaga could almost see Yoshimoto's spirit over Guiche.

The only difference was, that unlike that time at Okehazama when Nobunaga was outnumbered ten to one - about thirty thousand Imagawa soldiers against about three thousand Oda troops, this time it was Guiche's ten bronze structures against Nobunaga, the one and only. If Nobunaga couldn't take care of ten warriors by himself, it'd be a shame for the Oda.

And so happened, that the crowd remained with their mouths open, as Nobunaga continued to slash the valkyries, one after another, the steel of his dark-enchanted blade cutting through the bronze like butter.

As the last valkyrie protecting Guiche fell in pieces, Nobunaga looked at Guiche straight at his eyes, the demon king's aura leaving no place for mistake... Nobunaga wouldn't hesitate to kill Guiche, for a meager thing such as honor. Guiche fell backwards out of sheer fright of Nobunaga.

"Stop!" Just as Nobunaga was about to thrust his blade at Guiche, despite the fact that the latter screamed at him that he yielded, Louise suddenly raised her voice, Nobunaga stopping and turning to his 'lord'. "Don't you get it?! I don't know how you did it, but Guiche already yielded! The duel is over!" Shouted Louise.

For a change, even if the crowd around him looked like they wanted entertainment at first, they too, agreed with Louise on that one. "You have some luck on your side, brat. Your life was saved by my lord, but you will not go unpunished for pointing your sword at Nobunaga." Said the demon king, referring to himself in third person for some reason.

Having his pride as an 'aristocrat' crushed by Nobunaga's might, Guiche had no choice in the matter. "Starting today, you shall have the honor of being my retainer. I won't tolerate any wavering in your loyalty." Nobunaga sentenced Guiche to servitude under him, the crowd bursting with laughter as Nobunaga put his sword back in its place.

Guiche basicly became a familiar of a familiar of Louise. A shame for life. "Mister Nobunaga-" Guiche wanted to ask something of Nobunaga, only to be interrupted by a scary stare from said demon king. "Refer to me using 'my lord', Guiche." Were Nobunaga's words. If it wasn't scary even to watch, it would be funny.

"M-My lord... May I ask you, what was the spell that you used when the duel began? It is unknown even to me..." Guiche asked, Nobunaga seeming a bit puzzled, if not for Louise saying " 'Alea iacta est', I believe it was called. Really, what was that about?" , asking the same thing. 'This is bad... Is he an aristocrat and I didn't even notice...?' She thought to herself.

"A great man I once read about, said it before he went to face his fate. That's all there is to it, it's no incantation." Answered Nobunaga. "Are you telling me that you won against a mage without using any magic yourself?" Asked Louise, in awe of Nobunaga's feat. "Did you think such pitty obstacles would be enough to stop Nobunaga?" Nobunaga returned the favor, still referring to himself in third person.

"If I was that weak, I wouldn't be able to stand here and now, bearing this symbol on my back." Nobunaga continued, seeing that Louise and Guiche remained silent. "I'm just glad this duel didn't end in any deaths; Do you feel that way too, Nobu- ah- I mean, my lord?" Nobunaga couldn't believe that he made the same mistake twice in such a short time, using the same horror-inducing stare on him to correct his (minor) misdeed.

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .  
some time later  
. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

"Strange, the tea I know was different than this... especially that sweetness." Said Nobunaga, as he took the cup ignoring the normal holding place, as if it was a bowl. Louise, Guiche and someone who seemed like his 'girlfriend', continued to stare at Nobunaga with confused looks. "Remind me how you became who, or *what* you are today...? -My lord?" Guiche tried to ask, Nobunaga 'correcting' him again. It seemed like Guiche would never get used to that.

"It's a simple story of the chaotic times I lived in. The land where I came from was split into more little 'fiefs' than you could ever count, each fief ruled by a different daimyo." Nobunaga started, Louise interfering a bit with 'Like feudal lords?' , Nobunaga nodding.

"I was raised by my father, Oda Nobuhide, together with my brothers. My father was one of the Oda clan's leaders during that time, and after he died, my brothers and I fought each other for the rights of controlling Owari's Kiyosu castle, Owari itself being split to two parts, until I killed all who opposed me, including execution of one of my own brothers. That, gave me the nickname of 'Sixth Heaven Demon King'." Nobunaga continued, being interrupted again by shocked stares from anyone who heard it, especially Guiche.

'I was challenging the demon king himself to a duel, avoiding death only to become his retainer! What did I get myself into...!' Guiche thought to himself, nearly panicing. He could almost see the countless people's blood dripping from Nobunaga's dark blade. "From there, I fought many battles, in one of them I was even severly outnumbered and won, and when you summoned me, Louise... I was no less than a conquerer on his last steps to unify all the land." Nobunaga made the story short, mentioning the battle of Okehazama briefly at best and omitting the rest, Louise tensing up when he adressed her.

Nobunaga's ambition was then apparent. "Does *that*, satisfy you as an answer?" Nobunaga asked his then-retainer Guiche. Guiche nodded his head like his life depended on it. "Well, if you were there, you could take on the private-rank soldiers, but any officer with at least some talent would make quick work out of you, I guess. You would have to train yourself, both physically and mentally, to make that magic of yours worth something." Nobunaga said, not exactly encouraging Guiche.

It was then that Louise suddenly took an active part in the conversation. "Hey, Nobunaga... who was that man called Mitsuhide?" She asked Nobunaga with a serious face. "He was one of my retainers. How do you know of him?" Nobunaga wondered. "Last night I had a strange dream, where you and that Mitsuhide were fighting near a burning building." Louise confessed.

Everyone turned towards Nobunaga, who looked a bit fazed. "Mitsuhide... did betray me, and we really did fight at the temple of Honnoji. And you say it was in your dream... then that wasn't just a dream. It was a vision." Said Nobunaga. It was hard to believe for Louise that she was having visions about her familiar and his surroundings, from another world.

"Hmph... Perhaps you are destined to greatness like I was in my world." Nobunaga chuckled, lowering the tension somewhat. "I hate to break this to you, m-my lord, but there's a heirarchy system in this land. You cannot just take the throne by force, even if you were stronger than any other mage." Said Guiche, Nobunaga responding with another chuckle, followed by "Is that so?" .

"So, who is the ruler of this land?" Asked Nobunaga. "That would be princess Henrietta of Tristain. If you do something to her, it doesn't matter how much strength you have, I won't forgive you!" Answered Louise. Nobunaga didn't know if that poor attempt was supposed to intimidate him, but he got the feeling that they were connected somehow, except by the fact that Henrietta was the princess of Tristain, the part of the land they were then staying at.

Anyway, Nobunaga didn't know where the capital was yet, so the princess was safe for then.

...

"Is that so?" .


	2. Gods of War, Is That So?

**Thank you all for the support, I will be updating this story whenever I can... Even though it probably won't be that often. To tell you the truth, What was 'Chapter 1' of this story, was actually all I had written until the point it was published. I was unsure at first whether to publish this or not, but as you could probably see from that chapter, it was becoming long (at least from my point of view anyway) , so I decided to publish that chapter as it was.  
So yea, I'm sorry that this chapter happens to be shorter than the other one (~4800 words, compared to ~7000 of the previous chapter) , but I'll keep on writing.**

**On another note, besides Nobunaga, I imagined another known character to get into Halkeginia for some reason or another... and that's GLaDOS. However, that story got stuck somewhere, and I'm not going to publish half-work, even if that one is going to be a one-shot probably.**

**I will be replying to reviews here from now on:**

**Kaioo: Yes, but it won't be wise to show it this early, don't you think so? But yea, there will be musou mode. I imagine it being kinda like the Samurai Warriors 3 opening with Yukimura.**

**Guest: Believe me, I WILL make a fight with Count Mott... that, and Nobunaga spares a lot of asses... but gains something else in return. You'll see. Also, while making Count Mott a foot soldier under Guiche is certainly funny (I smiled just seeing that part of the review for the first time) , Count Mott is at least a bit more powerful than Guiche, making him more fit for an officer role.**

* * *

"So, this is what you desire...?" Said Nobunaga, to Louise. It was the afternoon, and that day, after the duel with Guiche, everyone, including Louise, knew to at least give some amount of respect to Nobunaga. "Yes, don't make me repeat myself. Even if you were strong enough to beat Guiche in that stupid duel of yours, you're still my familiar. And becuse you're my familiar, I want you to stay close to me." Louise repeated herself anyway.

"If you want to become strong, you could very well do it by yourself." Nobunaga figured that Louise said it not because she just wanted to chain him to her and that's it... but she wanted to have power. It was a very common thing in Nobunaga's world, as almost all of the feudal lords in his land, small as they might be, aimed for the whole land, just like himself. The aim for power, the ambition, was limitless in his world.

"S-Shut up, Fa-... Nobunaga! How can you say I could become strong by myself?!" She was about to say 'Familiar', and Nobunaga noticed that, and how she backed away from it. The question Nobunaga was interested in, however, was how she was taking his words? Was she taking them seriously, or was she throwing them away? The answer to that, could be found only within Louise, as her reaction didn't say anything.

"Besides the ability to use magic, there are other ways to guage how strong a human is. With enough training, you could become enough of a warrior to defeat any sorcery without having to break a sweat." Nobunaga answered Louise. "But aristocrats are guaged by how well they can use magic! For an aristocrat magician to use a sword because of inability to even use magic would be just laughable! Besides, anything I try ends up in explosions..." Louise tried to push her reasoning through, a bit embarassed towards the end. "Victory comes to who laughs last, Louise. They could laugh at your abilities, but they will fall. Besides, the ability to cause explosions is an ability by itself." Responded Nobunaga, a bit of a smile forming on his face.

"W-What are you saying...?" At that point Louise wanted Nobunaga to be clear with his words. "I'm saying that you should have a weapon on you beside your magic, and improve both, so you'll never feel like, or look like a failure again. I'm going to make you 'The greatest in the land ((Tenka Musou))' under the training of none other than Oda Nobunaga." Louise wanted Nobunaga to say things clearly, and oh boy did he deliver... in third person.

Louise couldn't just pass up this opportunity, to rise from her status as a zero, and a shame for the Valliere family name. She hesitated a bit, but she nodded, agreeing to the plan devised by Nobunaga. "F-Fine. But we'll have to wait until Voidday to go to the capital. I'm still a student, you know." Said Louise, Nobunaga chuckling to himself, followed by 'Is that so?'.

It was just a thought, but Nobunaga thought of the possibility of using their upcoming trip to the capital to gather information about that princess, and about any alleys and shortcuts in there. That mindset formed well within Nobunaga, as expected from a warrior from the era of chaos.

That evening (After dinner, in which even Colbert, whom Nobunaga thought to have power exceeding his own, didn't lay a finger on him for some reason), while Nobunaga still agreed to do Louise's laundry, he had to admit that he did like the feeling of... freedom, as he was walking through the academy grounds in the evening; That feeling that no one would disturb him.

As Nobunaga was nearing the fountain, he saw a familiar face in the distance. As he came closer, he noticed that it was the same maid he met the other evening. "What a coincidence, meeting you here out of all places, and now out of all times... Siesta." Nobunaga called to the maid in a rather unique way.

Again, it was just a passing thought in Nobunaga's mind, but he thought about the possibility that the maid actually wanted him to meet her there on purpose. That thought came to him because he noticed that the maid didn't show any signs of fright, or at least surprise, when she turned to see him... with the laundry.

"Oh, mister Nobunaga. Actually... someone wanted me to tell you how they admire your courage to rise against the aristocrats-" "I do not deserve admiration for *that* reason. Back in the chaotic times, Oda Nobunaga was too, an aristocrat." Siesta started to say, however she was cut by Nobunaga... who still referred to himself in third person.

"No really, I mean it, it really feels like you're a person we can trust." Siesta smiled, not letting Nobunaga say otherwise that time. Even Nobunaga himself didn't know why, but he felt the same way about Siesta - that she was a person he could trust... about the only one he could say that about at that time.

"Is that so...? I thank you for the compliment... together with the ones who sent you here." Nobunaga nodded, a little smile forming on his face. "Actually, they wanted to see you too, as you see, they only heard the rumors about you, and didn't actually get to meet you. I think they've even become your fans by now." Said Siesta, giggling at the last part, even though it was partly true.

When the conqueror and the maid reached their destination, Nobunaga was in for a surprise. "Everyone! I brought him!" Shouted Siesta, everyone in the kitchen room turned towards the two almost immediately... probably readying themselves to face the 'scary plebeian familiar' who beat Guiche, a magician aristocrat, without using any magic himself.

"Ooh, so you are the infamous familiar...? You look less scary than I thought you would be, but I can't blame those aristocrats either." Said who appeared to be the head chef, who afterwards stepped closer to Nobunaga. Siesta could somehow guess what was coming from Nobunaga. "I'd rather not be called by that useless, worthless nickname. My name is Nobunaga; Oda Nobunaga." Nobunaga introduced himself to the staff, even though he could imagine to himself that whoever spread the rumor about the 'scary plebeian' also included the name of said certain scary plebeian in there.

"Nobunaga, huh... Anyway, welcome aboard, Our Sword!" The head chef proceeded to stick another nickname from who-knows-where, to Nobunaga. " 'Our Sword'...? " Nobunaga questioned. "That's right! You're unable to use magic, a plebeian, yet you beat that aristocrat brat like it was a walk in the park! You're the pride of us plebeians, Our Sword!" The head chef responded, making Nobunaga smile a bit. "Nobunaga is not a sword, but a man, just like anyone else." Was Nobunaga's response. "Did you hear that? A true master never boasts of his own skill!" The head chef shouted towards his assistants in the kitchen, who were behind him.

"I'll be counting on you from now on, then. Just as you could count on me." Nobunaga turned around to leave, surprisingly quickly it was. Except for the fact that he didn't want the conversation to drift towards his past, he had another small problem he wanted taken care of that evening, so he couldn't waste that much time with the kitchen staff, no matter how much they adored him.

After the meeting with Siesta and the kitchen staff, Nobunaga went towards Louise's room, to put the laundry in place. However, something blocked his path... It was the same Salamander he happened to 'meet'. However, that time, it was strangely all alone, just standing in the way a bit further down the hall, while the time Nobunaga first came across it, it was with its master, that redhead who didn't even introduce herself.

Suddenly, the Salamander dashed quickly towards Nobunaga, trying to tackle the demon king. Sure, it was quite fast for an animal crawling that low on the ground, but not fast enough to surprise Nobunaga. Without drawing his sword, when the Salamander jumped to tackle Nobunaga, he pointed his left hand forward, some unknown force knocking the Salamander back away from Nobunaga, the Salamander landing on its back. Nobunaga wasn't exactly sure what the Salamander was more- surprised, or frightened, but when it finally returned its legs to the ground, it returned to one of the rooms, persumably its master's.

After that roadblock was dealt with, having put Louise's washed clothes on the table at the center of her room... so she couldn't miss it, Nobunaga went to the other matter he thought to be important at that time. Having asked about the location from Siesta, the demon king went towards the room of his latest retainer, Guiche, being quite sure that the later was still awake at that time.

"It is me, Guiche." Said Nobunaga, in a firm, serious voice. He was quite sure that Guiche was quite surprised at the other side of the door. "C-Coming!" Shouted Guiche, for Nobunaga to hear from the other side, rushing to the door. "Y-Yes, m-my lord?" Said Guiche Guiche was still dressed in his school uniform... which was fortunate for him, as he wouldn't want his 'lord' to see him in pajamas.

"There is a little issue I must speak with you about..." Nobunaga started talking after he went into his retainer's room... Guiche giving him a look of 'What did -I- do?' . Nobunaga then glanced for a split second at the bed in the room. As it was fit for the aristocrats studying in the academy to sleep in, it had more than enough space for Guiche, Nobunaga, and the later's armor all in line, and still have extra space left. "Do not worry, I'm not going to harm you." Nobunaga said, in a way which stated 'unless you betray me'.

"It's just, you see, the little problem that Louise, my master, thought she would be summoning an animal-like familiar, and not me, Oda Nobunaga. That being said, the only place which isn't her bed and is intended to sleep on, is a small pile of hay... and you know, I do NOT like myself sleeping there on the hay." Nobunaga explained, Guiche catching on pretty quickly. "... So, do you want to use my bed, m-my lord...?" Said Guiche, Nobunaga replying with 'Indeed. Do not worry, you won't even notice I'm there.' .

And with that, the quite long evening came to an end.

That night, the same visionary dreams had returned, that time, it was another dream, which showed to Nobunaga, rather than Louise. Nobunaga didn't know to put his finger on the source of these dreams, but it was made clear that they were more than just dreams.

In that dream, a man in gold/yellow armor and helmet which looked like the sun with its many rays of light was standing before 2 columns of people, one to his right and one to his left, all seemed to be his retainers.

"The time is now! Lord Nobunaga would demand blood, so blood we will spill! We'll have Akechi Mitsuhide pay! Then we'll create a world where everyone can be happy!" The leader said, the woman to his right nodding with a smile. Louise didn't know it, but she was the man's wife. And that Nobunaga gave the man the nickname 'monkey' when he was still in his world.

After that, the dream became an image of a full-scale war. Between the many fighting soldiers, the image of a mountain with cannons firing from it could be seen. "So, mount Tennoh was taken from us... For the sake of the future, I cannot surrender! Doing so will only dishonor the man I overcame!" Said Mitsuhide from what seemed to be his main encampment. "Mitsuhide! What you're doing is only destroying the future! I'm going to create a world where everyone can be happy! AND YOU'RE NOT DESTROYING IT!" Hideyoshi responding from his own main camp.

After that, the dream came to an end.

As Nobunaga woke up, the image of the man did not fade from his mind in the slightest. Even when putting his pieces of armor back on, that dream did not fade. "Mitsuhide... Hideyoshi..." Muttered Nobunaga, almost waking up Guiche before he went out of the room.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (The other names he had were 'Kinoshita Tokichiro', and 'Hashiba Hideyoshi', in order, before that name, and that is excluding his childhood name even)... that man, as far as Nobunaga remembered from his own not-so-distant past, was too, one of his retainers.

Originaly a peasent, or a plebeian as Nobunaga's current world would describe what Hideyoshi was, he joined the Oda as a lowly soldier, and began to rise in the ranks. By the time of the incident at Honnouji, Hideyoshi was one of Nobunaga's trusted retainers, and was leading a campaign to the west.

From the dream, it seemed like after Nobunaga supposedly 'died' (leaving no corpse or anything like that behind for *some reason*) , Mitsuhide was seen as a traitor, and Hideyoshi was off to take the traitor's head. From the name of Mount Tennoh, he could guess the battle took place at Yamazaki.

Honestly, it was not an unthinkable thing to do to a traitor. Moreover, Nobunaga imagined to himself that it was also not unthinkable to kill a traitor in the world he was currently in either. But a surprise waited for him when he opened the door to Louise's room.

Despite still being in her nightgown, she was already up from bed, like Nobunaga. "Nobunaga! Where have you been?! I thought told you to be on my side!" Louise said loudly, not taking into account that it was early morning. "I was sleeping, like any human would at night. And sleeping with you, or on your pile of hay wouldn't do at all." Nobunaga responded, straight to the point, Louise having nothing in response to that.

"Well, now that I'm here... Did you sleep well tonight? Unless it's Voidday, you have classes today, don't you?" Asked Nobunaga. From the silence Louise replied with, he had a weird feeling that she too had a dream like he had. "Actually, I had another one of those dreams... can you make something of it...?" And Louise confirmed it.

After Louise explained her dream to Nobunaga, it turned out to be the same one Nobunaga had. Nobunaga didn't fully explain about Hideyoshi, nor about that man's wife, but he did tell her about the fact that he saw the same dream too. "...Well, as far as I know, if Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide declared Oda Nobunaga dead, it means that it's not a vision of the past, but the future, of my world." Nobunaga concluded.

"B-But why am -I- seeing them too?" Louise raised the question. "If anything, it must be those 'familiar bonds' you so depend on. Sorcery, or as you call it, 'Magic', is not to be underestimated." Was Nobunaga's answer. It only served to confuse Louise even more, but for Nobunaga it was enough of an answer. 'A battle between Hideyoshi and the Akechi at Yamazaki... ... Is that so.' Nobunaga thought to himself.

Sometime later, after breakfast, Nobunaga followed Louise to her classes, per... order from Louise he didn't clearly understand why it was necessary. Nobunaga didn't use the magic system of Halkeginia, and didn't plan on doing so in the near future... unlike most of the students in the academy, Louise being the exception, at least from Nobunaga's point of view, because she wasn't even able to use said system of magic.

Nobunaga did listen to the teachers' lectures even though they had no meaning to him, and actually not even to Louise, his master. If he was already in this strange world, learning its form of magic was as good as gaining general knowledge at the least.

After Louise's school day ended, Nobunaga learning a lot about the system of magic in Halkeginia by the end of the day, Louise and Nobunaga happened to come across someone who seemed suspicious to Nobunaga, walking towards the gates of the academy, with some kind of document in his hand. That man seemed pleased about something, which Nobunaga didn't know about, but had a feeling it might concern him sometime in the near future.

"Who was that man just now?" Asked Nobunaga, after the man passed them. "Ah, that was count Mott if I'm not mistaken. He owns a mansion not that far from here, and he mostly acts as a messenger from the royal palace when he comes here." Answered Louise. Louise's answer only deepened the feeling of suspicion Nobunaga had on the man. 'Count Mott... I'll remember his name.' Nobunaga thought to himself.

Some time later, when the two were in sight of the tower where Louise's room was, Nobunaga saw a group of four male students at the entrance to the tower they were going towards. "What are you three doing here? Move aside, you're blocking the way." Said Louise, trying to convince them to move. Nobunaga chuckled to himself, Louise not understanding what's going on.

"Those four seem to bear some... hostility, towards us, for some reason. Won't you explain to us what this is all about?" Said Nobunaga, stepping a few steps back as a precaution. "W-What are you saying, Nobunaga? He's wrong, isn't he?" Louise asked, turning towards the four students for the second question. "No... he's right. We're here to make you apologize, you damn familiar!" Declared one of the four students.

"Not only did you hurt Guiche, making him your... servant, you now dare to hurt Kirche...! Apologize right now!" The same one continued, pointing his wand at Nobunaga. "Wha..? Is this true?" Louise asked Nobunaga, not wanting to believe that he may get into trouble again because of his 'foolishness', as she put it. Nobunaga chuckled, everyone around him not knowing what to even make of those chuckles of his.

"I simply do not know what are you talking about. Do you care explaining a bit further...?" Said Nobunaga, putting his hands on his waist as a sign of being a bit tired of the conspiracies and rumors about him. Then again, he had the nickname of the 'Sixth Heaven Demon King' back in his old world, and he actually liked it. Another note would be, that at that point, Nobunaga didn't even know who IS that 'Kirche' those four were talking about, as that 'Kirche' didn't even introduce herself to him at all. Sure, it may have been someone he knew from appearance, but he didn't knew her by name.

Despite his persumable lack of patience, his facial expression was showing the exact opposite. He had a little smug on his face. It was like he was waiting for the next 'war', to vent his anger and show his superiority, to make it -clear- that time, that who dares messing with him, won't get away that easily.

"Kirche told us how cruel you were to her familiar. I don't know how... freaky, your world is, but in this world, hurting an aristocrat's familiar equals hurting the aristocrat itself!" Another one of the four continued with the explanation... only to be cut off by another one of Nobunaga's strange habits... the evil-laughing fits. "... Is that so? Well, unfortunately for you, there's no real reason why Nobunaga should apologize to the likes of you." Said Nobunaga after his evil-laugh was over, finally recognizing who that 'Kirche' was... and Nobunaga knew her indeed only by her appearance, until that time.

"W-What did you say just now?!" Said another of the boys, drawing his wand at Nobunaga. "Sticks, stop this right now! Where is Kirche right now? We have to go and talk to her!" Louise asked the one who drew his wand first, apparently named Sticks. "Why, she's in her room, of course." Answered one of them. "More importantly, Nobunaga!-No, Familiar of Zero! Today shall be the day you die for your insolence!" Said Sticks, starting to chant a spell.

"Is that so...?" Was the only response they got from the demon king, who drew his blade. 'So, the enemy commander is currently at that room the flame lizard ran away towards that time. If I want to win this battle without any meaningless deaths, I'd have to talk to that 'Kirche' first, and convince her to surrender. I don't believe that would be too difficult, as I just have to MAKE her surrender, but the problem lies in getting to her room without killing those four 'officers' she recruited, and without little Louise here falling behind in the process... Lets see how this plan goes.' Was Nobunaga's line of thought, devising a plan surprisingly quickly.

"Louise, you stay here. When I give you the sign, make an explosion close to them. We'll go right through them." Nobunaga made his orders, noticing something crucial in that mini-battlefield. Quickly dodging what seemed to be a fire bullet of some sort, Nobunaga dashed straight towards the four, swinging his sword in a wide arc. "W-What did you do? I didn't feel a thing!" Said one of the boys. 'No way...! Did Nobunaga... miss?!' Thought Louise, however only for a moment, as the next moment revealed to everyone what Nobunaga's goal was. All the four students' wands were already drawn, and what Nobunaga's slash did... was cut all their wands down, in a single strike.

"Without your wands, you're all as good as commoners, or as you say... 'worthless plebeians'. Come, Louise." Said Nobunaga, the four students getting away from the reach of Nobunaga's blade, Louise following Nobunaga into the tower. "Don't think that you won already!" However, as Nobunaga thought that his plan to make Louise do an explosion was useless, the enemy behind him drew wands they had in reserve, in case something like that happened.

"Louise, NOW!" Nobunaga gave the sign to Louise, who did just as she was told. "Now RUN!" Nobunaga ordered, Louise finally noticing the effects of her explosion. It acted not only as a means of attacking her opponents, but that time it also acted as a smoke screen, securing an escape route, straight towards the 'enemy commander', Kirche. 'How could Nobunaga think of such a plan in such a short time...? T-That makes him nothing less of a strategic genius...!' Louise thought to herself, barely keeping up with Nobunaga's speed of running in the stairs leading upwards.

'As swift as the wind... As silent as the forest... As fierce as fire... As unshakeable as the mountain... Fuu-Rin-Ka-Zan.' Those words found their way to Nobunaga's thoughts, remembering one of the thorns in his sides at the chaotic times - Takeda Shingen... and then Nobunaga was using that exact tactic. Reaching the door to Kirche's room... Nobunaga busting the door open with force, Nobunaga and Louise stood before the preperator of the whole mess they were in that time - Kirche. She was still in her school uniform, but it looked like she was waiting for them to arrive, her familiar being right beside her. "Oh, Louise, and Odanobunaga. What brings you here?" Kirche tried to act innocent. "Only the students you sent after me. Now, I'll have you surrender... It is definitely not Nobunaga's fate to die because of a trifle like this." Said Nobunaga, pointing his sword at Kirche. Kirche then looked a bit puzzled.

"Eh...? What are you talking about...? I didn't send my classmates to -kill- you, not anything like that... I just... told them to tell you that I wanted to have a talk with you about what my familiar told me, and...-" Kirche started to make excuses, or that was what it seemed like, anyway. Even Nobunaga wasn't sure himself what to make of those words Kirche was saying. "Kirche, more importantly, stop this madness now, before it evolves further...!" Interrupted Louise, Louise being interrupted herself by Nobunaga raising his hand in front of her. "Oh...? Now what did your familiar here say to you...?" Said Nobunaga, interested in whatever reason Kirche had to start this battle.

"Even I thought it was strange, but Flame said that when he tried to tackle you, he felt a strong force pushing him away from you, something that isn't normally possible, so he thought you were the one who did it. It's true, I didn't want to kill you, I surrender...!" Kirche told her story behind the incident, Nobunaga puting his sword away only when he heard that Kirche officially surrender. "Oh, that... That was my work, indeed. However... don't you find it strange to send your familiar to tackle people in the hall?" Responded Nobunaga, Kirche tensing up a bit.

"Are you alright, Kirche?!" Suddenly, the group of four rushed into the room. "Oh... I forgot about you idiots. Kirche already surrendered, there's no reason for you to fight anymore." Said Nobunaga. "Geez, Sticks and Manica and Ajax and Gimly, you're all so irresponsible...! I only told you to tell him to come and see me, and you go and make such a mess...!" Said Kirche, dodging Nobunaga's earlier question about the reason for which she sent her familiar at him in the first place. "Well, you all. Going against Nobunaga isn't without its consequences. You shall all be my retainers from now on. When I call you to battle, I expect you to put your lives on the line." Said Nobunaga, surprising everyone in the room.

It seemed like he wasn't going to stop at making Guiche his retainer, but anyone who loses to him in battle was to be his plaything. "W-Why do you think we'll accept that condition? We don't even know you! We won't risk our lives for the likes of you!" Said... Sticks, if Nobunaga remembered correctly. "Is that so...? You could see my might back then. You know what would happen to dare to raise a sword, or a wand in your case, at Nobunaga...? Servitude or death. It's just, that, simple." Said Nobunaga in all seriousness, releasing some of his aura. None could stand in the demon king's way and get away with it. It was indeed just, that, simple.

And so, the great Oda army resurrection plan of Nobunaga advanced one step further. That plan was one Nobunaga made up as he thought how he could benefit by the fact that Guiche was his retainer. Even Nobunaga was surprised by the rate of how fast that plan was moving along. He has been in Halkeginia for only mere three days and two nights, and he already had five 'officers' under his control, six if Louise was counted, because Kirche just had a misunderstanding with the demon king, so he didn't force her to serve him, even if she would be some nice addition to the 'resurrected army'. 'Even the late Takeda Shingen would be at least mildly impressed.' Was Nobunaga's thought.


	3. He Who Comes from the Age of Chaos

**First of all, I thank you all for for follows, favs and reviews for this story. I had other things in my mind for the past week, so I couldn't write more nor upload this chapter for some time. You know, when writing, if your mind is elsewhere, the words just don't come out... Anyway, it is certainly time, I think.**

**Replies for reviews of previous chapter:**

**Blackholelord: Your guess is a bit different than what I was thinking. However, unless I suddenly think of something which will totally turn around the plot on its head, the story will be pushed in that general direction of 'Nobunaga wanting to unify Halkeginia'. Also, in this chapter, if you can read my hints, there is a little hint of a possible ending. I keep thinking of endings, even though it's still way too early for that story-wise... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^'**

**Kaioo: You sure give me nice ideas. I really do like myself some referrences to the Samurai Warriors games (And to a lesser extent, actual history) ... I usually end up putting them in places which wouldn't make them too odd though. For example, -Even though it would be awesome and funny- , Nobunaga would not just come to the throne room where he'd draw his sword and say 'I am Nobunaga, of the Oda clan!' or something like that. Also, there is a little treat in this chapter, for you reminding me of the musou mode. You can just imagine, what Nobunaga did in this chapter. I must admit, I start looking forward to seeing your reviews. ... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^'**

**Batta the Beast: Sengoku Basara is the name of that series. ... I didn't watch nearly a tenth of that series, part of the reason being that they made it way too inaccurate and unproportional power-wise, although that is only my own opinion... Masamune is awesome there though. Also, heads would surely roll if you'd just... imagine the demon king from Sengoku Basara appearing almost anywhere. But... Nobunaga from Basara is a demon king, and it doesn't feel like he is anything more than that. That, and again, if I killed half the cast before anything happened, it wouldn't make for a story. **

**Anyway, thanks for the reviews, now let us get to the actual chapter.**

**The Samurai Warriors (Sengoku Musou) series is property of Koei (as far as I know) , and Familiar of Zero isn't mine either. (May 2nd 2014 , Unroyal Paladin forgot who owns Familiar of Zero ... ... this is bad, isn't it? ^^' )**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The following day after the 'Battle of the Tristain Magic Academy Dorm Tower' , things finally seemed to get more or less normal, at least for Nobunaga. While there were still those dreams left unexplained, they were becoming much less surprising, when Nobunaga knew to expect them. That, and Guiche's bed was quite comfortable. It was early morning, Nobunaga waking up from the strange dream of that night. That time too, like last time, said dream didn't even involve Nobunaga... at least not directly.

Like the day before, Nobunaga went straight towards Louise's room. Unlike the previous day, however, Nobunaga opened the room's door to find a most pleasent surprise... or the worst surprise ever, it depends on who is asked. The good part of the situation was, that Louise was already awake, and while she wasn't really 'ready for action', that was indeed a good sign that her body was getting used to getting up from bed at earlier times than she did when Nobunaga was not around. That, and the bad part of the surprise was, that the moment Nobunaga entered the room, Louise was just in the middle of changin from her night gown to her 'school uniform' cloths... in the middle of putting on her panties.

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

some time later

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

"You know, you didn't have to scream that loud..." Said Nobunaga after Louise got out of her room, as he was waiting outside the room after the accident. "S-Shut up! If you really want me to classify you as a man and not as a familiar, that's a normal response!" Louise said in her defense, blushing a bit before changing the subject altogether. "Anyway, Nobunaga, today is Voidday, so today we're going to the capital to buy me a sword. Beside technically being my personal bodyguard, I'll need you to evaluate which sword would fit me the most you said you'd train me." Said Louise. Nobunaga was waiting patiently for the day he'd be able to start training Louise, and being the kind of 'Cao Cao' he was, his plans wouldn't just end there.

"Alright, then we shall depart. How much time will this little errand take...?" Asked Nobunaga, starting to walk towards the stables, Louise leading the way. "Hmmm... It takes about three hours, riding on a horse that is." Answered Louise. It was strange, but Nobunaga noticed someone peeking from one of the rooms, as if wanting to follow them or something like that. However, he couldn't clearly identify who that was, so he just chose to focus on the task at hand. The little stalker would show their face sooner or later, if he wasn't mistaken. And he wasn't usually mistaken.

As the two made their way out of the dorm tower, Nobunaga began thinking about his recent course of action. It was some sort of a self-council; What he was and wasn't doing since he came into Halkeginia, and where those things would lead him. First, Nobunaga figured quite quickly that if he killed any of the academy's students, he would be at a major disadvantage. Technically being of a lower status, 'familiar', he definitely wouldn't be excused for killing aristocrats, even if he only were to kill one of them. That would go to the higher ups, possibly the princess herself, and not only would his anonimity be blown up completely, the same high-position aristocrats would probably order his death, and that would be the end of 'Nobunaga's ambition' right then and there.

So killing off those annoyances was out of the question, for Guiche, and Kirche and her lovebrats. Increasing the number of men he had on his side, however, was apparently a good course of action. He did make good use of the situations he got himself into, on purpose or not on purpose... or so he thought, anyway. If he would want to do a move on a bigger scale, like actually killing those who opposed him, or gain some territory for himself, he would be better off with more 'officers' on his side than just himself. So despite him going out of his usual 'way of Nobunaga, the Sixth Heaven Demon King', on the far end he saw his actions only benefiting him. However, the thorny path to the throne and the 'Unifier' title in Halkeginia, was still long. '... Is that so?' .

When Louise and Nobunaga reached the stables, stopping Nobunaga's overworking train of thoughts, Louise was nothing less than impressed. Right after she rode on the horse they were supposed to take, struggling a bit with the process, Nobunaga did the same... only that he didn't seem to be struggling at all. It was like he was riding horses for fun in his childhood... or for war, judging by his extra firm grip. At first she couldn't believe that Nobunaga was a unifier of his whole land, but all the evidence was pointing that it was nothing less than right.

Along the way, despite Nobunaga not speaking about it in the slightest, the subject of the strange dreams both Louise and Nobunaga were having, came up once again. "Hey, Nobunaga... who was that guy? He who fought you, and shouted your name..." Asked Louise. It seemed like she was getting interested in Nobunaga's old world, seeing all those dreams about that world's past and future. "Oh, THAT man... ..." Said Nobunaga, remembering him not only from that dream, but from the times they fought against each other, too.

The dream involved the story of a man... one of the various ones who opposed Nobunaga. The first scenery in the dream involved the man sitting on a wooden roof, looking upwards towards the gray, cloudy sky. 'I can't smile anymore... not until Nobunaga's dead.' The man's thoughts echoed. That man... was Saika Magoichi. After the battle of Osaka bay, in which Magoichi helped the resistance against Nobunaga... Nobunaga being the absolutely unforgiving person that he was back there in that world, Nobunaga ordered the destruction of the Saika village... which Magoichi called 'home'.

The dream's scene changed, to a burning village from the bird's eye. People's screams were heard, as well as Nobunaga's evil laugh in the background. "Destroy all who dare to resist Nobunaga... destroy them all; Let them burn, in hell..." Were Nobunaga's cold-hearted words. When Magoichi reached the village, it was already burnt completely, the corpses of Magoichi's fellow villagers lying on the ground, none of them escaping Nobunaga's wrath alive. Magoichi fell to his knees, raising his face towards the heavens... "NOBUNAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Magoichi screamed loudly, as loud as he possibly could, for all those dear to him who had died in the hands of the demon king, the dream ending there.

"I still remember his name... Saika Magoichi. He was a part of the Saika renegade, his mastery was that... rather unique, rifle of his. However, he chose the wrong side... he chose to oppose Nobunaga. What I did was simply heaven's punishment for his actions." Nobunaga explained to Louise. "That's... that's too cruel... Couldn't you find another way to deal with that? You murdered an entire village of innocent people!" Asked Louise, unable to accept the morality of Nobunaga's actions.

"Louise... lets say you've got a bird which won't sing; What would you do with it?" Nobunaga asked Louise back, with a hypothetical question. "W-What would I do with it...? I'd give it to my family so they would know what to do with it!" Louise tried to make something which looked like an answer, Nobunaga not being impressed by that in the slightest. "So when you face hardships, you try to force them on other people? When you have a problem, you try to blame other people for them?" Nobunaga asked.

It has hard for Louise to accept Nobunaga's words, but Nobunaga was right. Until then, all Louise did was run away from her problems, forcing them on other people, and try to put the blame away from her. It was a harsh lesson, but Louise understood it. "If the bird doesn't sing, I wouldn't do anything else, but KILL IT. I would use all my physical and mental force to face my problems. That, is what Nobunaga would do." The conversation ended with that. Louise wasn't sure whether to be impressed by Nobunaga, or fear him... but one thing was for sure, and that is that he wanted to raise her from the dirt she was in, from the shameful name of 'Louise the Zero'... and to a lesser extent himself, from the nickname 'Familiar of Zero' which also got stuck on him for some reason.

When the two reached the capital, Nobunaga immediately raised his head a bit upwards to look at the royal castle... as if thinking 'So this is the first of the obstacles I will need to overcome...' . It was basicly impossible not to notice that large castle in the middle of all the relatively short buildings which surrounded it. "There we are, Tristania, the capital city of Tristain." Said Louise, with at least a bit of pride in her words. 'Whoever made this city clearly didn't have a strong naming sense, that's for sure...' Nobunaga thought to himself as he walked with Louise in the various streets and alleys of the city. Nobunaga tried his best to memorize anything he could about that city, even though Louise was already going straight towards their destination, not getting lost in the slightest. Nobunaga didn't complain about it in the slightest, but there went his plan about learning the city interiors because of getting lost.

"This is the place." Said Louise. The two stood in front of a weapon shop, one which had a convenient sword sign above its building. Despite that convenience, mostly for Nobunaga, that shop looked kinda shady. "What do you keep standing there, Nobunaga? You said you're going to pick me a weapon, so come in with me." Said Louise, not shouting for once, but getting Nobunaga to follow her into the store nontheless. He did have a kind of a feeling that he was being followed or otherwise surveilenced by someone else though. At first, by instinct, Nobunaga thought that some kind of ninja was involved in that, wanting to assassinate him but failing to hide his presence, but when Nobunaga gave it a second thought, if that ninja was that bad as to let him notice that he was there, he wasn't that much of a threat anyway; Perhaps it was not a ninja in any way, but some amature just wanting to gather information, or whatever that person's motive was.

The two entered the shop, Nobunaga having a look at the various swords put on the walls for show. "Welcome to my shop! What kind of sword are you looking for?" Said the shopkeeper, seeing potential multiple customers enter the shop. "We came here to buy a sword which would fit her, what do you have to sell me?" Said Nobunaga, noticing that the shopkeeper was looking with wide eyes at Nobunaga's own sword. Sure, that sword had its own decorations made of what at least looked like gold (if it wasn't actually gold, which was most probably so) , but it was no excuse for a sword shop shopkeeper to be looking at it with such amazement. "Ah, a sword for the lady here? Wait just a moment, I'll see what I have in the back room." Said the shopkeeper, temporarily leaving the two alone.

"Here you go, this sword is said to be made by the famous Germanian alchemist, sir Spree." When he returned from the back room, the shopkeeper had in his hands a sword which looked like it would fit the most proud noble in the world. It looked like it was pure gold, and had a red jewel for decoration, properties which would impress any noble... except Nobunaga. "Could you let me take a look at it?" Asked Nobunaga, the shopkeeper having no reason to refuse, giving the shiny sword to Nobunaga. After a quick look, Nobunaga came to one conclusion... "This sword is just for show, it can't cut anything, or it will break in the process. In battle, it might as well be USELESS." Was Nobunaga's final verdict, shocking Louise, and earning a surprised look from the shopkeeper.

At that point Nobunaga knew for sure that something was fishy about this shop. Normally, there wouldn't be any dishonorable scams such as this, and if Nobunaga wasn't with Louise that time, that sword would surely prove costly... not that Nobunaga was the most honorable man in the land, but that was more dishonorable. Moreover, something about the shopkeeper's face told him that the scam he was pulling was not innocent, nor it was mere coincidence, but made with pure intention of extracting as much money from customers as possible. Normally that would be an unforgivable crime, at least from Nobunaga's point of view, but killing a shopkeeper was not a trifle either, and before even picking a sword for Louise would mean that they came to the capital for nothing, only earning Nobunaga the title of 'wanted criminal', among the other horrific titles he's earned himself so far.

"Look, could you give us something light weight? Also, make it durable so it won't look like it's going to break in one strike this time." Nobunaga demanded from the shopkeeper, speaking rather loudly. "Alright, alright..." Said the shopkeeper, in a kind of disappointed tone, possibly about the failed scam from earlier, going to the back room again, to fetch another sword from there. Just for a moment, in the corner of his eye, Nobunaga noticed some movement in one of the barrels at the side of the room they were in. "H-Hey, Nobunaga, where are you going?" Asked Louise, seeing Nobunaga walking towards the barrels. Inside those barrels were various swords... although their quality was mediocre at best, except for one which seemed a bit different than the rest for some reason.

"Nowhere. I just checked the barrels for little rats." Said Nobunaga. Even though he said that, he clearly remembered where the movement was, and there weren't any 'rats' in there. For Louise though, it was a kind of an answer satisfactory enough... considering that it came from Nobunaga. "Sorry to keep you waiting..." The storekeeper returned, that time there were two selections of swords he brought with him. Louise seemed a bit disappointed that those swords didn't even glitter, as opposed to the previous one which Nobunaga deemed 'USELESS'. "Here ya go." Said the shopkeeper, letting Nobunaga and Louise take a look at the swords he brought... well, more like only Nobunaga would get a look at them, since Louise knew nothing about how to evaluate a sword. Anyway, Nobunaga noticed that one of the swords was a rapier, and the other was a simple short sword. "Well at least this is usable..." Said Nobunaga when he examined them more closely, the runes on Nobunaga's left hand glowing a bit.

Suddenly, a voice was heard from the same direction of the barrel Nobunaga went to earlier. "These are going to break fairly quickly too though, those two I wouldn't recommend ya." The voice said, making Nobunaga turn his attention to it. The shopkeeper was at a loss for words, as he too, didn't know what was going on in the slightest. "Who, or what, are you?" Asked Nobunaga. "The name's Derflinger. And yours?" For a short question, a short answer. Everyone then noticed that it was actually a sword inside a barrel that was talking. "No way! An intelligent sword?" Said Louise. Nobunaga though, didn't bother questioning Louise about what was an 'intelligent sword'. He just assumed that it would be a sort of legendary / precious sword turned into some Youkai, gaining the ability to speak in the process. "The name is Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga." Nobunaga walked over to the barrel Derflinger was in, pulling the intelligent sword out of its place, the runes on Nobunaga's hand glowing again.

"You got such a dark aura surrounding you there, partner, and it's not just the armor... no wonder I woke up." Derflinger commented while Nobunaga examined him closely, like he did with the other swords. "Interesting... you look old, but still extremely trusty nontheless, and moreover, surprisingly light weight... I've decided; We will buy this one." Said Nobunaga, putting Derflinger back in his sheath, lifting the intelligent sword easily, like it was a feather, surprising Louise both in the decision and in his muscle strength... as if she never lifted anything heavier than a pen in her whole life*.

"How much is it?" Nobunaga asked the shopkeeper, leaning on the counter... and absolutely not in the provocative way. "Oh, this, ummm..." The shopkeeper hesitated, Nobunaga giving him some time to 'remember' the price of the intelligent sword, imagining that even the shopkeeper didn't know it was an intelligent sword. "100 New Gold will do." The shopkeeper decided on a price, Nobunaga turning to Louise. "Is that so...? Well, I honestly have no idea how the currency in Halkeginia works yet; What do you say about it?" Asked Nobunaga. "Well, it's cheap enough, I can afford it, but... do you -really- want that intelligent sword?" Responded Louise, a bit of doubt in her about Nobunaga's choice. "Yes, it might just be the most valuable sword in here anyway." Said Nobunaga, being quite sure in his decisions.

"So, what year is it now? Answer me dammit." Said Derflinger, after Nobunaga and Louise paid for him and left the shop. "Now that's one heck of a sword..." Nobunaga said to no one in particular. On another note, Nobunaga still felt the presence of the little stalker from earlier... no, it was not only him. There were way greater numbers that time. Anyway, there weren't that many people in the road they were walking in, so Nobunaga thought that he could lure the stalker... or stalkers, out of their hiding. "You can come out now. I know you're there... all of you. You can't hide your presence from me." Nobunaga said loudly, suddenly turning around, to see who and how many will pop out. "Who are tou talking to...?" Louise was confused. She didn't notice anyone following them, as she just looked forward as they were walking.

Nobunaga watched carefully as five people came out of the several alleys connecting to the road, with the five who were already following right behind, that made for ten people suspicious to Nobunaga. Only then Louise noticed them all, seeing the answer to her previous question in front of her eyes. "Heh, you have good eyes there." One of them said, a smirk forming on both his face, and Nobunaga's face as well. "What do you desire...?" Said Nobunaga, another one of his infamous lines from his old world, as the 'demon king who tries to grant anyone's desires, but not without a price'. "Why, everything you have, including all your money, that 'intelligent sword' or whatever, and that armor of yours. If you all don't want to die, you better do what we 'desire'." Said the same one, threatening anyone else in the road, who in response, tried to hide either behind Nobunaga and Louise, or run for their lives.

"Ah, now I see. That weapon shop hires bandits like you to do in anyone who dares enter right after they leave, besides trying to provide useless weapons for high prices." Nobunaga caught up to what happened. "B-But they're just bandits! What makes you think the weapon shop HIRED them?!" Louise tried to find a contradiction. "The proof is that they knew Derflinger was an 'intelligent sword'. Derflinger didn't speak a word since we left the shop. This way, both sides indeed profit - the shop from the recycling of weapons, and you from anything else the victims have on them. That, and by chance this is supposed to be your 'lucky day', since one of your victims is a rather weak aristocrat... as of now, that is..." Nobunaga continued. "... but you know, you won't live long enough to split the loot." Nobunaga gave Derflinger to Louise, drawing his own sword, his trusted sword which slayed so many men that it might as well be cursed for all eternity, and pointed.

"Louise... turn around, NOW." Nobunaga suddenly said, seeing the bandits draw their own swords at him, and not just the swords that the shop usually sells which break on strike without doing much, but -real- swords. He then had that look on his eyes... which told that he was not playing around anymore... those same eyes, of he who comes from the age of chaos. "W-Why do I-" Louise tried to ask, although she was interrupted by the sword in her hand. "Better do what he says, sis! Better do it, and do it NOW! I sense a terrible power swelling inside mah partner, there's no tellin' what atrocities he might do to them! If ya don't wanna lose your mind right here and now, better turn around before he does that." Said Derflinger, Louise quickly turning around, just in time for Nobunaga to unleash whatever Derflinger was sensing... ...

... ...

"TREMBLE BEFORE ME."

... ...

No more than 4 seconds after that, Louise felt a gust of wind by her back, and with it, the strong stench of blood. That, and Nobunaga was already by Louise's side, his sword already in its sheath. "Whatever ya do, sis... ... don't even dare look back." Said Derflinger, sensing clearly what Nobunaga did to those bandits... and it was not pretty. "... What are you, partner?" Derflinger asked Nobunaga. It was not that easy to impress Derflinger, but what Nobunaga did just then took all the cakes in the world. "I already told you, didn't I? I am Nobunaga; Oda Nobunaga. And Nobunaga... is a man. Now after this trifle is over, time to get back to the academy. I have lots to teach you before you could call yourself strong." Said Nobunaga, starting to walk away from the mess he just did, without any sympathy for the ones he killed with cold blood, nor hesitation to leave their bodies to rot away under the sun, which was by that time preparing to set in the distance.

Riding their horse back to the academy, in about the middle of the way, Louise suddenly wanted to ask Nobunaga something, something which seemed important to her. "Say, Nobunaga... ... those bandits... they're not alive anymore, are they...?" Asked Louise, turning her head a bit towards Nobunaga, seeing him with a smirk on his face. "What nonsense are you babbling...? They are long dead. They were dead the moment they crossed paths with Nobunaga. Whatever the foolish reason may be, that Nobunaga would let such lowly bandits live after all the crimes they have done?" Nobunaga answered, chuckling even.

"You know, they could have just been brought to justice... Then we wouldn't have to kill them." Louise tried to say, although she stopped in the middle when she realized that none of her reasons would get to Nobunaga, even if she wasn't going to be interrupted by him. "-And what would your system of your so-called 'justice' do to those bandits? Lock them up in jail for the rest of their lives? Or perhaps execute them anyway? I told you exactly what I would do with a bird that refuses to sing... ... KILL IT. In this case it was not just about killing lowlives like those bandits. If a bird won't sing, one should kill it, not only because it doesn't benefit you, and is only a useless burden, but also because by killing the bird, you'd be freeing it from its misery. What I did was also preventing them from facing the ever so cruel justice, which would find its ways of killing them anyway."

While Louise understood what Nobunaga said, she still thought that there must have been another way to get things done. The two rode into the sunset, Louise hoping to get some good night's sleep because of what happened that day. And it was a long day indeed.

**...**

**"Is that so?" .**


	4. The Footsteps of a Warrior

**First of all, sorry about the delay, I had other things on my mind and I couldn't publish this on the time I intended it to be... just for the heck of it, of course. (In case you weren't there when I posted the first chapter, the coincidental pattern of me posting these chapters is: First chapter was posted on April 2nd, Second chapter was posted on April 16th, Third chapter was posted on May 2nd... hence this chapter was supposed to be up on May 16th, but whatever about that. It was funny to notice that, because again, it was pure coincidence.**

**Also, when I look at this chapter as a whole... it seems to me more like a filler with a sort of a connection to the chapter after it, and if you look at the ending I sticked to it, if you omit the last 2 one-line paragraphs, it could very well include the next event already. But at the end, I decided it to be in the next chapter.**

**And before I forget, there is an asterisk somewhere in chapter 2. It's actually a referrence to a cool little one-liner I've heard in a game, and the original one-liner was: "Tell me, boy, have you never lifted anything heavier than a pen?" , or something like that. Just in case you wondered why I placed an asterisk there.**

**Comments about the reviews from last chapter:**

**Kaioo: Of course I'm planning to include large-scale battles in this, I'm getting a little excited just by thinking about how to make them as I write this. But... I think there's a kind of misunderstanding in that review. While Incident at Honnouji is indeed the final stage for Nobunaga's -STORY MODE- , I think the way you used the word 'musou' in there is wrong. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think 'musou' referrs to the circle-button type of attack. By the way, I'm going to be a little more real than an actual Samurai Warriors game... well, not by much, but still... Nobunaga doesn't have any 'levels' or 'healthbar' in this story. He won't just come and say 'I'm level 50 (70 if SW2XL, 20 if SW1 or SW1XL) full stats full healthbar, prepare yourself.' . (I didn't understand the question about Nobunaga having a 'musou' , he does have that type of attack, and I showed it (more or less) .)  
**

**Mega1987: Yep, poor bandits... NOT. :P (They DID get musou'd though, ya?)**

**Audi: I'm glad that your imagination is also up and running, but... I'm not there yet! ^^' Oh, and at the 'Okehazama 2.0' , I already made LOTS of referrences to Okehazama, mostly to show exactly how powerful Nobunaga is, like being outnumbered ten to one in both bronze valkyries and bandits, and even directly mentioning it at some points... and maybe an incoming 'dream' will be about that, so... yea, there are plenty Okehazama referrences in this already... not that another one wouldn't fit though. :P**

***Having trouble coming up with a name for this chapter, weeeeeeeeeeeeeee... ***

**Reviews are most welcome; Enjoy!**

* * *

Louise went almost straight to bed after reaching the academy... and to be honest, Nobunaga also thought that it would be fine if he went to sleep a bit earlier. "Ah, now that I think of it, Nobunaga..." Said Louise as they walked together towards the dining hall to eat their dinner, remembering something. "I see you entering my room every morning to wake me up, but you don't sleep in my room... so where DO you sleep?" Louise asked. "In the room of one called Guiche de Granmort. You do know him, don't you?" Answered Nobunaga, much to Louise's shock. 'Sure, Nobunaga was a conqueror or whatever he was, but sleeping in Guiche's room?! It doesn't matter how much of a genius Nobunaga is, that's just insane...!' Louise thought to herself, Nobunaga reading her facial expression well enough to understand at least a part of it.

" 'You can't be serious', is proabably what you're thinking, but I assure you that all I do there is sleep, and nothing else. I'm a married man, you know, even if my wife is most probably not in this world, but in my old one; I do hope she is still alive." Said Nobunaga, a bit of a smirk forming on his face. Even the fact that Nobunaga was married was new to Louise. 'I can only imagined who was the woman brave enough to marry that demon king...' Louise shuddered.

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

The next morning

. . . *で、 あるか* . . .

When Nobunaga woke up, there was a little grin on his face. Somehow, he knew that it would come eventually. Nobunaga waited patiently for -that- dream to come, and it finally did. The dream that would surely come to be Louise's greatest fright regarding him, and portrayed so well that it would seem like a nightmare more than anything else. Nobunaga did cruel things, and oh boy did he do many of those... like burning away buildings with his enemies still inside, doing whole massacres against the Honganji, who were just monks who just happened to oppose him, and later against the Saika village, leaving only despair for poor Magoichi when he arrived... but -that- one was sure to be one of the first places in terms of cruelty.

Just as he got up from... Guiche's, bed, apparently taking his time, suddenly the door of the room was forced open. When Nobunaga immediately looked towards the door to see who it was, he saw that it was none other than his... master turned apprentice Louise, and she was standing at the door, apparently wanting an explanation to the dream (or was it a nightmare) that she just had, still sweating, even though just a bit. "W-What's going on...?" In the few seconds of silence, Guiche got up to sitting on his bed, waking up from the door's noise bumping on the wall from the force Louise put into it. Nobunaga chuckled, seeing Louise's facial expression. "What happened, Louise?" He asked. Of course, he already guessed it, but he asked anyway, just to see her response.

"Just what was... that nightmare...?" Louise asked Nobunaga, looking at him straight in the eyes. "Do you call -that- nightmare...?" Nobunaga chuckled at Louise, almost outright laughing at her. "Um... Can you two tell me what is going on...?" Asked Guiche. "It seems like Louise and I have strange dreams every night since I arrived at Halkeginia... all of them about either my world's past, or future. Now, assuming you had the same dream as I had... ... I could imagine how it could be classified as a nightmare for -you-, Louise, but it clearly wasn't a nightmare for Nobunaga." Nobunaga explained the situation to Guiche roughly, turning towards Louise in the middle. The demon king still remembered that time... and it was glorious.

The story of the dream started in showing two people, a man and a woman, standing in what seemed to be the top floor of a castle, the peaceful view of outside of the castle being visible. It would have been a perfect romantic story between the two, rather than a nightmare, as the dream showed them in a romantic way, as if they were totally in love with each other... if it wasn't for what came afterwards. "Oichi... ... Do you like flowers...?" A voice echoed throughout the castle, persumably the man's, as he held some flowers in his hand. "Lord Nagamasa..." Another voice echoed, as Nagamasa attached the flowers to Oichi's hair. "I am sorry, Oichi... we cannot just ignore your brother's assault against the Asakura. I know it is painful for you, as you are his sister, but... there is no other way." Said Nagamasa, not mentioning Nobunaga's name yet. "It's ok... if we must fight my brother, then so be it." Responded Oichi, to lower the burden on Nagamasa.

The sky then became covered with dark clouds, a mysterious red hue breaching the clouds, painting the earth in the color of blood. The dream switced its scenery to what seemed like a dark forest although the strange red hue still remained. "The Azai have betrayed us!" A soldier's scream could be heard. "So you have turned your back and betrayed me, Nagamasa...? Rearguard! I am counting on you to keep us alive!" Louise's nightmare started right there. 'That's...! Nobunaga's voice..!' That was all Louise managed to think inside the dream. And indeed, it was a battle where the Oda were forced to retreat, due to the Azai betraying them against the Asakura... the 'Battle of Kanegasaki'. A lot of screams were heard. The lives of many warriors were lost. "We've finally driven them off... Azai... Asakura... you will soon learn, that crossing me is the most foolish thing you can do on this earth." Were Nobunaga's last words before the dream switched its scenery again.

Nagamasa and Oichi were back at the castle, just outside its gates, facing away from them. Suddenly, a huge army appeared in the distance, led by one man, surrounded by his retainers. When Louise looked closer, the man leading the army was, again, none other than Nobunaga himself, beside him being Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, and a few others Louise didn't recognize, but Nobunaga sure did. "This man needs no mercy. Destroy them all." Said Nobunaga, pointing his sword at Nagamasa.

The final scene in the dream was the most shocking one for Louise. On the same top floor of the castle, the point from which the dream began, was Nobunaga, with his back turned towards Oichi, who was then crying for the loss of her beloved one, his skull right before her eyes, along with two others, those of his father, and his ally he tried to protect from Nobunaga. Something was strange, however, as those skulls seemed to have had their top parts missing. When Louise turned her attention towards Nobunaga, she noticed that he was drinking from what seemed to be a small golden plate, two of his retainers at the corner of the room drinking too from similar plates... that was when Louise figured out what Nobunaga did. "Oichi..." Said Nobunaga, Louise wanting the dream to end already. "... DO YOU LIKE FLOWERS?" With that repetition of the first line in the dream, and Nobunaga raising his golden cup carved from skull as if he was celebrating something with the usual 'cheers', the dream ended.

Nobunaga and Louise continued their conversation outside Guiche's room. "How can you call THAT anything other than a nightmare?!" Louise asked, her voice raised. "Think about it... I lived in that world. Things like that were not enough for me to even shed one tear. Nagamasa betrayed me even though I had my own little sister, Oichi, marry him so they could very well live happily ever after... so I killed him, took Oichi back, and destroyed the Azai completely along with the Asakura which I intended to destroy in the first place. This is about the normal reaction you'd get from anyone." Was Nobunaga's response, explaining step by step how he worked in that situation. "Even if you were a noble, that's... that's too cruel! Your sister was crying in front of your face! Didn't you feel at least one bit sad for her?!" Louise asked.

Nobunaga chuckled, making Louise even more furious. "Of course I felt sad for her. After all, she IS my sister. However, it was her choice of love is what brought pain upon her, and not Nobunaga." Nobunaga explained his point of view. He sure was cruel, and that wasn't new, even to Louise. But he was not necessarily bad either, and Louise could tell that too. It was just his morality core that was messed up... or so Louise thought anyway. "Well, don't you have other things to care about than Nobunaga's past, Louise?" Nobunaga tried to change the mood, and change the subject from his past to something else... like the first day of Louise training under him. That, and she had some classes that day.

When Louise's classes were over, Nobunaga couldn't help but raise a brow at what he saw while he was walking with Louise in one of the corridors, walking towards Louise's room. 'If I remember correctly... that is none other than Count Mott.' Nobunaga thought to himself, as indeed the same Count Mott from last time walked right behind them, in the same direction. "You there with the black armor, stop for a moment." That time Mott was actually trying to talk directly with Nobunaga, another thing nobles would only rarely do. Regardless, Louise and Nobunaga both stopped, Nobunaga turning around first.

"Now what business could you ever have with Nobunaga?" Said the demon king, refering to himself in third person. "I see, so you are the one behind the rumors I've been receiving lately. An imposing man with strange hairstyle, black armor, and the symbol of a five-petaled flower on some sort of red mantle on his back, who goes by the name of 'Nobunaga'." Count Mott described all the details he heard about. Those descriptions were rather accurate, a thing which alerted Nobunaga a bit. "May I ask how do you know so much about me...?" Asked Nobunaga. "Oh you will know pretty soon even if I don't tell you. You are pretty famous, after all. Well, I am a busy man, so you will have to excuse me." Was the only response given from Count Mott, before he passed through Nobunaga and Louise with a small grin on his face, heading for the gate.

"... Is that so?" Said Nobunaga a few seconds after Count Mott passed them, as if responding to what he said. "Why in the founder's name are you so famous all of a sudden?" Louise asked Nobunaga right after his... interesting late response. "If I am to take a guess, it's probably the scene I caused at one of the capital's roads, with the bandits. You know, there were some eye witnesses to that incident. Also... corpses don't just disappear." Nobunaga answered, the last part giving Louise the chills. "After you rest a bit in your room, we'll start your first training session. Make sure you take that intelligent sword of yours." Said Nobunaga, the two continuing on their path, all obstacles then gone from their way.

After a while, Nobunaga and Louise left the tower where the dorms were, Louise standing in front of Nobunaga, although with a bit of distance. "Well, we're here... can you really make me stronger with this...?" Asked Louise, Nobunaga chucking in response. "Before we begin, there is something you must understand. With these training sessions, -I- am not making you any stronger. What will make you stronger, is non other than YOU, Louise, as I am only giving you some directions." Nobunaga said, explaining why he laughed in a way. "Partner's right on that one little lady - no one can make you stronger if it doesn't come from you in the first place. Now, try to draw me!" Derflinger commented from Louise's back, backing up Nobunaga's words.

Louise was hesitant to draw Derflinger, and Nobunaga could sense that, by the fact that Louise's hand was shaking when she drew Derflinger, her grip on the sword being frail. While Nobunaga knew he shouldn't laugh at her, he did something which could very well be considered that way. What Nobunaga did was slowly walk in towards Louise, closing the distance. Then, when he came withing reach of Louise's hands holding Derflinger, he suddenly reached with his own hand towards the holding point where Louise held Derflinger, and pulled it from Louise's hand with force, the runes on Nobunaga's left hand glowing since he was then holding a weapon. "W-What are you doing?! You almost hurt me!" Louise shouted at Nobunaga.

"While this sword is lightweight, allowing you to get used to it with ease compared to the other swords, your grip on the sword was so frail that I could take it away from you without using much of my strength. You also hesitated when you drew your sword, and your hands were shaking. Do you understand what I am saying?" Said Nobunaga, returning Derflinger to Louise's back where its sheath was. "Y-Yes..." Replied Louise, understanding Nobunaga's words somewhat. Louise could swear she heard Derflinger holding himself not to laugh at that point, either from her lousy attempt to draw him, or from Nobunaga's successful attempt to snatch him from Louise's hands.

"Now, try to draw your sword again. This time, pay attention to your grip on the sword. I will try to do the same thing I did last time." Said Nobunaga, moving back about the same distance as earlier. The process repeated two more times, each and every one of them Nobunaga successfuly took the sword from Louise without needing to use almost any real power at all. However, Nobunaga noticed that Louise started to pick up what he was trying to teach her, and that was a positive sign. "Are you sure you're not just making fun of me...?" Asked Louise after the third time. "What gave you -that- idea...? You're getting better and I don't even think that you realize it." Nobunaga replied. "I am...? But all you did was take my sword from my hand a couple of times..." Louise doubted, Nobunaga chuckling again. "Surely you don't expect to -seriously- challenge Nobunaga on your first day of training? But those are indeed your first steps as a warrior." Replied Nobunaga.

Suddenly, a green-haired woman approached the two. "Excuse me, you two." She said as she approached, Louise turning around. "If I remember correctly you are... Miss Longueville, the headmaster's secretary... how can we help you..?" Said Louise, identifying the woman. "Actually, the headmaster wants to see you two, Louise de la Valierre and 'Oda Nobunaga'." Said Miss Longueville, trying her best not to butcher Nobunaga's name, and she indeed didn't. "For what reason?" Louise asked in a rather polite way. "I don't know the exact details myself, but it appears that a letter from the royal palace has arrived, and it persumably has something to do with you two." Replied the secretary. "Is that so...? So that, is what Count Mott was doing here..? Interesting." Said Nobunaga to no one in particular. None the less, he followed the secretary to the headmaster's office without causing any trouble at all. Louise just prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid in the headmaster's office... ... prayed to the founder of course.

When the now group of three reached the headmaster's office, Miss Longueville knocked on the door, possibly the polite thing to do. "I've brought them, like you wanted." She said to the headmaster, who was obviously behind the large door... which Nobunaga almost mistaken for a gate of his old world... and boy, were those freaking big-ass gates. "Ah, come in." The voice of a rather old man was heard through the door, the secretary opening said door in response. From Nobunaga's initial sight of the headmaster of the academy of magic of Tristain, that headmaster was indeed quite old, but when Nobunaga looked at him, it seemed like he was far from being weak or senile. "Thank you, Miss Longueville. Sit down, you two." The headmaster said, Louise pulling Nobunaga to one of the couches which were in the room, surprisingly quite far from the actual desk of the headmaster.

"Well... as you may or may not know, I received a letter from the royal palace today... and it mentioned you, 'Oda Nobunaga'." The headmaster said, as if opening a speech... which Louise didn't want to happen, because it may or may not take all day. "Is that so...?" Nobunaga replied with what almost seemed like his signature words, the headmaster nodding before continuing to the point. "I won't read the whole letter to you, but it was written that there were reports to the palace about you killing a group of bandits in the capital. Honestly, I was shocked about how descriptive they were with the goreish sight 'Oda Nobunaga' persumably left there lying on the ground in the middle of the road. First I must ask you, Nobunaga... is that true? Did you really do all that?" The headmaster asked. Louise turned to face Nobunaga, who sat beside her, as if asking him to be careful with his words, or else who knows what they would do with him. Obviously, Louise thought it was not going to end well.

"Why yes, it indeed happen. Although honestly speaking, we were attacked first, and all 'Oda Nobunaga' did was defending himself and his 'master', and not just attacking random people, who happened to be all bandits." Was Nobunaga's response. "Hmm, so it really did happen... then let me ask you another question, Nobunaga, before I tell you two why exactly I summoned you two for this conversation... I do understand why you killed them... but from the description of the corpses by the time you left them, they were in such a bad shape that I couldn't think of anything else but the fact that what it takes to take the life of another human being couldn't possibly require such actions... so why -did- you continue to take it to such extremes, while the bandits were already dead?" Asked the headmaster.

Louise then remembered what Derflinger told her to do, moments before Nobunaga cut down the bandits... 'I sense a terrible power swelling inside mah partner, there's no tellin' what atrocities he might do to them! If ya don't wanna lose your mind right here and now, better turn around before he does that.' . "I don't know what is the image that forms inside your mind about 'Oda Nobunaga', but let me remind you that the bandits numbered ten, while Nobunaga numbered only one. Also, let me assure you, I did not stay there for long after those bandits were taken care of, at all. They experienced a quick, painless, and worthless deaths." Answered Nobunaga. "But... how could you kill ten bandits, and do all that in just a matter of a few seconds...? I remember it being so fast that I couldn't even do anything, and you were already by my side..." Said Louise, the headmaster's eyes widening a bit.

"No matter how much I think about it, there is no way that a regular plebeian, even if he is a trained swordsman, would manage to do all that in just a matter of a few seconds...! Is that really true, Louise..?" Said the headmaster, unable to comprehend what Nobunaga did exactly, in such a short amount of time, Louise nodding in response. "I see that this conversation isn't going anywhere. Those bandits are long dead, and won't be returning to life anymore; The point of interest shouldn't be what I -did-, but I'm -going to do- from this point on. Now, could you please tell us the -true- reason why you called us here...?" Nobunaga interrupted the headmaster and Louise's line of thought. Louise, on her side, prepared for the worst.

"Oh, alright then... the final part of the letter said that whoever this 'Oda Nobunaga' might be, the princess would like to see him for herself, and that while the good deed he did is not enough for the rank of Chevalier, the royal palace thanks him greatly, and hopes that he will use his strength for Tristain in the future as well." Said the headmaster. That certainly took a load of pressure off Louise. While she was expecting the worst to happen, what really happened was that the royal palace, including princess Heinrietta herself, simply thanked him for what seemed to be a good deed.

"Honestly, the reason why I wanted to talk with you directly, Nobunaga, was to question your morality. The royal palace will keep an eye on you for some time now, so I wanted to tell you to be careful in what you do from now on. You don't seem evil, but from what I heard from you, killing 10 human beings didn't affect you in the slightest, even though you reduced them to such shape they were barely even recognizable. I guess I will have to keep an eye on you too." Said the headmaster, from his voice tone it seemed like he didn't want to have to keep an eye on Nobunaga, even though it was rather necessary. "Well then, I wouldn't like to waste your time any further than what I already did, so you are now dismissed." With that, Louise and Nobunaga left the headmaster's office.

The following evening, the samurai knight in the dark armor surprisingly didn't see Siesta anywhere around where he went. For a moment he thought the poor maid was kidnapped by someone who had things to settle with him, but the more he thought of that possibility, the more it seemed rather unlikely, since no-one he could think of, except Guiche, knew that he even had a single talk with that specific maid. Then, when Nobunaga thought that he'd rather go to bed than waste his time looking for her, someone approached him... and that someone was rather familiar to Nobunaga.

"Hey there, Our Sword!" It was the head chef, who greeted Nobunaga with a raised hand and a lively voice tone. "What brings you here?" Asked Nobunaga. "I was about to ask the same thing to you; I'm only taking a little break, and you?" The head chef returned the question. "I just noticed that I didn't see Siesta for quite some time. Did something happen to her...?" Asked Nobunaga. At that point, Nobunaga got a little suspicious, since the head chef's liveliness, suddenly disappeared. "She left today at noon, heading to Count Mott's estate, being hired to be his personal maid... Didn't Siesta tell you about it?" The head chef revealed the secret Siesta tried to hide from Nobunaga. "No, she didn't. I do wonder... Was she trying to hide that from me...? Anyway, give me the coordinations to the Mott estate." Said Nobunaga, the middle part being to no one in particular.

Of course, the head chef agreed to give Nobunaga the general location of the estate. To what he really agreed on though, he didn't know at the slightest.

"...Is that so? Up until now, Siesta has been the only person I could truely say that she wouldn't betray me. She's been the person I could count on. Maid or no maid, I won't let some worthless person like Count Mott have her all for himself. This, is what -I- desire...!" .


End file.
